All companies – landscaping businesses included – can run into problems when they don’t have a clear plan of action and a set of standards for any given task. If workers don’t know what to do and have no way of measuring how well they’re doing it, how will they get anything done? The result is often inefficiency, chaos, and confusion. What’s needed is a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

There’s an old marketing joke that applies just as well to the professional landscape industry: “This would be a great business to be in if it weren’t for the clients.” Now, of course, there’s a lot to love about our clients, but some can drive you crazy with demands or complaints.

So how can you identify the characteristics of your perfect client so you can attract more of the people you enjoy working with and determine the ones who will cause more stress than joy? Let’s walk through the process of finding the right clients through alignment and communication.

There is nothing more frustrating for a landscape business owner than to provide a client with a season’s worth of outstanding, timely service only to have them make excuse after excuse about why they can’t pay you on time, or worse, simply stiff you outright.

Collecting money that’s rightfully owed you can be a challenging issue. The best solution is to not be in that position to begin with. Weed out the low and non-payers before the situation gets out of hand and establish relationships in which the client clearly understands that you need to get paid on time so that you, in turn, can honor your commitments.

This is a problem most landscape contractors would probably love to have – too many clients or projects and not enough time to handle it all. Meaning there is tons of demand…and not enough supply (i.e. you and your team) to go around. Still, it’s a serious issue that many of us in the landscape design and contracting business sooner or later face. 

So exactly how do you get potential clients to commit and wait for you to free up the time and resources to handle their business?

Chances are good you didn’t get into the landscape industry because you love paperwork. Nope! You enjoy working outdoors, creating beautiful landscape designs, watching plants flourish and nurturing their growth, and developing attractive, useful landscaped areas that add value to clients’ properties. Negotiating contracts and filling out forms just isn’t where you want to be spending your time.